The Dallas Cowboys’ bet on George Pickens has paid off for them during the season and could pay off for him as he heads into free agency this offseason.
Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the sense around the NFL is that Pickens is seeking a “massive payday.”
There haven’t been a lot of high-end receivers who hit true free agency lately, but two notable standouts include Calvin Ridley and Chris Godwin. Ridley signed a four-year, $92 million deal with the Tennessee Titans in March 2024. Godwin got a three-year, $66 million contract last offseason that kept him with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Fowler noted that if Pickens gets a long-term contract, it should “easily” surpass the deals for Ridley and Godwin.
There are currently nine receivers making at least $30 million per season. Ja’Marr Chase leads the way with a $40.3 million average annual salary.
It’s unclear if Pickens will even get to free agency because the Cowboys could use the franchise tag to keep him for 2026. The tag for receivers is projected to be $28.5 million.
One of the potential concerns the Pittsburgh Steelers had about investing in Pickens long-term and why they traded him to Dallas in May was because of his maturity level.
Pickens recently acknowledged that he acted immaturely during his tenure in Pittsburgh in an article on The Players’ Tribune:
“I was still a kid. I made some mistakes. I’ll own that. I let my emotions get the best of me a few times, because I’m always riding that line. That’s just who I am. I’ve tried to learn from it and grow while still being ME.
“Now the media in Pittsburgh? I admit… I was trolling y’all a little bit. I apologize! But I don’t have a bad word to say about Pittsburgh. I can call up [Mike Tomlin] right now and we’d have a real conversation. What I respect about him most is he always told me, ‘Just keep being you, George.’ It just wasn’t the long-term fit for where my journey was headed, and that’s OK.”
The Cowboys sent a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder to Pittsburgh for Pickens and a 2026 sixth-round pick.
There has been no indication of any issues since Pickens joined the Cowboys. All of the potential he showed in college at Georgia that made him such a tantalizing draft prospect in 2022 has come to the fore in his first season in Dallas.
One potential storyline to keep in mind as the Cowboys consider a long-term deal with Pickens is the star wideout’s agent is David Mulugheta, who just went through a contentious offseason with Jerry Jones over the Micah Parsons negotiations.
Pickens is arguably the best receiver on a team that features CeeDee Lamb. He ranks second in the NFL with 1,054 receiving yards, third with eight touchdowns and is one of two receivers, along with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, averaging at least 15.0 yards per catch with at least 50 receptions.
Even if Pickens ends up playing on the franchise tag in 2026, he will only be 25 with a chance to get his desired long-term deal the following offseason.
